Peavy, Oswalt, contracts and the 25-man roster

All the Jake Peavy to the Astros scenarios are getting a little old. This is the end-all Jake Peavy blog, so get it out of your system.

Honestly, I haven’t seen a good Peavy-Astros rumor in weeks, if not longer. The Astros can’t afford Peavy, either in the players it would take to make the trade or the millions it would add to the budget.

Yes, you could send Hunter Pence, J.R. Towles, Bud Norris, Brad James, Michael Bourn and a handful of other players to San Diego, but at what expense? Who will play right field? Or center field? Or pitch in 2012-13?

Would Peavy make that much of a difference if you had to trade Wiggy to make room and give up Pence in the trade?

Yes, Roy Oswalt would love nothing better than to line up next to Peavy along the first base line players are introduced Opening Day. Yes, Oswalt would re-work his salary to make it happen. In fact, Oswalt would likely be so excited that he would give up his #44 if that’s what it would take to put Peavy in an Astros’ uniform.

So, go ahead, unload your thoughts on the Peavy deal that is not going to happen…at least not this winter. But, rest assured, I’ll keep a close eye. If there is a valid rumor, we’ll talk about it here first.

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By offering to re-work his contract, Oswalt proved he’s a team player and wants to win.

But I’m not a fan or proponent of re-working contracts. It’s the traditional “pay me now or pay me later” story. It’s like buying a used car and financing it for five years — it’ll be old and worn out and you’ll still owe bundles and oodles of money.

Remember how Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio re-worked their deals to make room for extra salary? The Astros paid later and were hamstrug when Bagwell couldn’t play, but still had his salary on the books.

Frankly, if the Astros plan a $100 million budget, Oswalt, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee would likely need to renegoiate their deals to make room for Jake Peavy or Ben Sheets and be able keep Jose Valverde and Ty Wigginton.

Consider this: If Valverde and Wiggy earned $15 million between them (and that’s a conservative number) and the Astros signed Sheets for $12 million, the budget could be pushing $120 million if the roster remained intact.

If the Big Three reduced their salaries by $5 million each (Oswalt to $9 million, Berkman to $9.5 million, Lee to $13.5 million), the Astros would have to add a year or so to their contracts or pick up options and add that money back in at the end of the deal. That means Houston could be paying close to $20 million each to those players at the end of the deals when they are past their primes.

It wasn’t the answer with Bagwell. It isn’t the answer with Oswalt.

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Friday is the deadline to offer a contract to players under team control. If the Astros choose not to offer a contract to a particular player, he becomes a free agent.

We’ve discussed the possibilities of Ty Wigginton and Brandon Backe being non-tendered. What about Tim Byrdak?

Since the Astros chose left-handed reliever Gilbert De La Vara in Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft, it makes three lefties in the bullpen. Wright is young and promising. Byrdak is a 35-year-old journeyman who may be too pricy for the Astros. He avoided arbitration and signed a $712,500 deal with Detroit before being released just before the season started.

Wright’s rookie performance and De La Vara’s arrival may signal Byrdak’s departure. Then again, the Astros could re-sign Byrdak and make a trade during spring training, but that would be a risk.

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Just for kicks, here’s the 25-man roster that’s beginning to take shape. It’s likely — if not highly likely — that several of these players won’t be on the roster come Opening Day. Which ones? Possibly Backe, Byrdak, Wiggy, Sutton, Bourn or Abercrombie.

As you can see, there is a glut of bullpen pitchers — eight in all. That’s another factor that makes a non-tender or trade possible since it’s unlikely the Astros will carry three left handers in the pen. Plus Chris Sampson may not be entirely ready for Opening Day.